Posted by apenname on June 13, 2005, at 10:25:50
In reply to Re: How long do Effexor XL withdrawals last?, posted by LBB on June 10, 2005, at 21:08:33
Thanks for the good thread. This is my second time going off of Effexor XR, the last time I was ramping up Lexapro before getting an out-of-the-blue parosmia (sense of smell change-was actually from a sinus infection and not the medicine), and being on nothing for a hellish week. I thought of myself as one of the "lucky" ones where I have had zero symptoms as I slowly stepped down. I went from 225 mg, with a 37.5 mg drop every 1.5 weeks. Then: 3 days early and having some nausea (and other symptoms that made me think I was just fighting a virus), I made the drop from 37.5 mg to 0 last Friday. I've been dizzy and dizzy and feel like I'm thinking through molassas (can't even spell the word).
I often suffer from sinus problems and thought the dizziness might be some other bug I picked up and am fighting, along with the spring-summer weather change, the increase in AC use, etc.
I like the "healthy" and "fruit" cleanse idea. I've been craving fruit and (for the past 3 weeks), meat, red meat and feeling like I need protein (I'm not necessarily a fan, but I went ahead and gave in). Unfortunately I'm wanting to use this change time to start fixing the overweight I slipped into without paying attention, but I have noticed eating helps keep the dizziness at bay. I guess I shouldn't try and change everything at once.
I guess I will call my psych and see what to do (my husband said: "call your doctor", and I didn't know which one to call).
Another note: yesterday when I was working outside with plants and getting some small exercise, the dizziness wasn't there at all.
I really don't want to have to take any Effexor, and want to see the decrease in blood pressure I'm hoping for. I stayed on it even with the heightened BP because it's what worked for about 5 years now, with some half years of trying other things. It's been completely worth it, even with this lingering withdrawl. I'll find out what the psychiatrist says about what to do.
Query: how long before the medicine is completely "flushed out of your system"? Is there any data about that? My previous pharma-psychiatrist thought it was a week, but I really don't believe that.
-Meg
poster:apenname
thread:486906
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050611/msgs/511984.html